Disadvantaged Students & Crisis on Faith-Based Urban Schools

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, between the 1999--2000 and 2005--06 school years, the K--12 faith-based education sector lost nearly 1,200 schools and nearly 425,000 students. For generations, these schools have played an invaluable role in America's cities. To lose these schools is to lose a positive, central character in the narrative of urban America. For many urban parents, the moral grounding, community ethic, safe and structured environment, and academic rigor of faith-based schools are invaluable to their children. The underserved children of America's cities deserve access to high-performing educational options. A strong education institution can stabilise a community. A strong school in an underserved community can destabilise fragile social networks, depress job creation and economic development, and exacerbate the collective sense of despair resulting from scarce community resources and opportunities. America's faith-based urban schools -- so prized by so many families -- are well worth this effort. This book consists of public domain documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.